Monster Club
by Thane Skysor
Summary: Who knew dark unicorns and demon dragons to be could get along...? -Ronodin and Navarog are young kids -Bracken is a spoiled child, but lucky for Kendra he improved when the first demon war came along -The Unicorn-Dragon gala was something set up by the Fairy Queen to foster better relationships between both groups, it was discontinued for obvious reasons and never mentioned again.


A powerful wind blasted through the clearing when the deer was grazing on the sweet summer grass. The animal looked skyward as a dark shadow passed overhead. After a tense few seconds in which the beast scanned its immediate surroundings for predators, it declared the area safe and resumed its munching.

When the dragon turned back to make a second pass, the animal was not so lucky. Though it realized the danger and frantically ran from the approaching carnivore, it was a minute too late. Claws, sharpened to deadly points, closed around the deer's middle, punching right through its rib cage. The prey-to-be emitted a few fading bleats of fear. Its last moments were a blur of terror, pain, and more terror. Not that the predator cared.

The dragon was a killing machine, sheathed in scales that might have been made of obsidian, with spikes running up and down the muscular but flexible back.

For a killing machine, the dragon reflected, he was still pretty small. That would be solved as time went on, he still had plenty of room to grow. And learn. As an orphaned dragon, he was entirely self-taught, and he was still learning.

This didn't make him any less dangerous, though. His name, Navarog, suited him perfectly, and that wasn't surprising, since he'd selected it himself. It was one of the rare known words in the language of Chaos, which, according to a recently acquired friend, was one of the most powerful languages one could speak. Navarog, loosely translated, meant Finalizer. It was true that he was the final sight that many an animal saw before it died. Navarog glided over a smooth lake, pausing once to admire his reflection. He stretched his jaws wide in a toothy grin, then thrashed his tail to chop up the water, stirring up waves.

He neared his lair, a good-sized cleft protruding from the cliff. It provided adequate protection from the weather at best, but then again, with scales such as his, who needed external protection from the elements?

He deposited the deer on the hardened ground. The carcass reeked of freshly spilled blood. And the scent of fear, generated by the prey's last moments. Lowering his head, the dragon scooped the corpse into its jaws, teeth crunching bones into powder and ripping through soft muscle. He anticipated the day when he would go hunting, not for deer, but more interesting prey.

Having finished the meal, the dragon used his sharp claws to pick bone fragments out of his teeth. He gulped water from a cold stream to wash off the bitter aftertaste that came from somewhere in the deer's intestines. Wading into the water, he splashed around, seeing how much spray he could throw up.

"ATTENTION!"

He spluttered in surprise and turned around to see a fellow dragon land right in front of him. This new creature, who dwarfed him in size, was one he did not recognize. It sported shimmering blue scales and large eyes that would look more appropriate on a cat (his favorite food). He tensed, ready for a fight, letting out his loudest and most threating growl.

A fight, however, was not what the other dragon had in mind.

"There is a gala tonight!" it announced in the secret language of dragons. "Attendance is mandatory!"

"Yes!" Navarog roared to the sky in a rare show of excitement. The messenger flapped towards the sky and disappeared.

A gala, he knew, was a time when unicorns and dragons met in peace under a truce. He would have thought it more sensible to crush all the ponies and take their land, but they had one thing that dragons didn't: strong magic. So once a month, the two species would meet to negotiate and occasionally trade. He was too young to take part in these, but he still had to show up, which was annoying.

He usually found them very boring, but this month it would be different. Because he had a friend.

Ronodin of the fairy realm was not the usual type of friend, let alone the type of friend for a strong, fierce, and very dragonly dragon who usually would have nothing to do with ponies. But he had a horn that was sharper than the usual ones, which was fine by Navarog. Navarog had not seen it for himself- last month, when he had met the unicorn, they were both in human form, which was compulsory for reasons he couldn't be bothered to remember. He remembered breaking that rule last month to put a stupid pony in its place, but the king of dragons disregarded the fact that it had been entirely justified and for a good cause, and had punished him with a harsh beating.

Many magical creatures could assume human forms when it suited them, and dragons were no exception. Neither were ponies. Usually, human form was bothersome and limiting (let alone the loss of the ability to fly), but this time, Navarog wouldn't mind in the least. After catching a boar and eating it whole (always a filling and refreshing snack), he set out for the castle where the gala would be held. The castle was on neutral ground, so it belonged to neither ponies or dragons. The castle boasted a wide landing strip, which was fortunate as he was still working on his aim. Pony ships were spiraling overhead, and Navarog knew that Ronodin was aboard one of them.

He landed right in front of the castle and immediately assumed human form. As a human, he looked rather unassuming, but with the same golden eyes as he had in dragon form. In the setting sun, they were the color of melted amber- warm, but still dangerous. He admired himself in the reflective stone of the castle walls before walking inside.

He entered the vast chamber where all creatures under age thirty-three were meant to congregate, glancing around and hoping to spot Ronodin. His sense of smell was still sharp, but he had forgotten the unicorn's scent. He wove and ducked through crowds to check the corner where he and Ronodin first met, finding nothing. Migrating to the next closest corner, he found nothing.

He checked the third corner. That, too, proved to be futile.

"Hey, you." said a very rude and arrogant voice that, doubtless, did not belong to Ronodin. Unfortunately, it was one Navarog recognized.

"Dragon!" shouted Prince Bracken- a clear challenge if ever there was one.

"Unicorn." Navarog sneered.

"No." protested Bracken. "I am the Prince of the Fairy Realm, and you will address me as such. I will tolerate no slights on my honor. Face me like a dragon, coward."

"Yeah?" snarled Navarog. "You asked for it."

He had no qualms whatsoever about giving Bracken what he deserved (also known as painful death), but the excruciating pain of the beating flashed into his mind and he pulled back.

"Are you afraid?" Bracken asked.

"Are you?" Navarog challenged.

"Why, let me think… NO!"

"I can rip you apart." Navarog threatened. "It's going to hurt."

"Allow me to remind you. You're not in dragon form now."

"I don't need to be in dragon form!"

"Yes? Well, that makes things so much easier." Bracken extended his hand, palm facing up. Something closed around his neck- like a burning, glowing noose. Navarog didn't need to be an expert to realize that this was the magic equivalent of the human practice known as hanging. The dragon was jerked into the air. His strength, he realized, was useless when faced with magic. And neither were his lungs.

Bracken lowered his hand and released him. Navarog thought he deserved a prize just for landing on his feet. He raised his hand and rubbed his neck. The skin tingled, but otherwise it felt normal and smooth.

"That was just a warning!" Bracken shouted. "Next time-"

What would happen next time, Navarog never found out, because somebody had taken him by the hand and was dragging him away. At first he fought, but as he saw Bracken skitter away towards the refreshments table (where there was a good-sized crowd) he turned to find the identity of his rescuer.

"Ronodin!"

The unicorn, he noticed, hadn't changed much over the span of one month. He seemed to be the same age and height as Navarog, but that was the only thing their physical appereances held in common. Navarog's hair was short and dark, but Ronodin's hair fell to his shoulders in wispy purple waves, and his complexion was much paler than Navarog's (what was it with ponies and light skin?), and his scrawny build would look more appropriate on a starving person, not an unicorn prince. Though he was Bracken's cousin, it was nearly impossible for one to tell they were related. Bracken had all the good looks of a child god. When Navarog observed Ronodin, the word that came to mind was goofy. But Navarog couldn't have cared less- at least Ronodin had a smaller ego than some people he knew.

"Hello." Ronodin greeted him.

"Hello, me? Oh. Okay. Um, so, how was your life in the past month?" Navarog asked, showing a hint of uncharacteristic nervousness. How did one start a conversation with a friend who's been gone for a month?

"Will you believe this, it's actually improving!" Ronodin said.

"Improving how?"

"Just- improving."

"Is it Bracken?"

"No. He hasn't gotten any friendlier. How are you?"

"Oh, there's this awesome kill I made! It was this huge lion, y'know, and it was just annoying me. You know how lions are bigger than your average prey? Well-"

Ronodin interrupted. "I've never seen a lion."

"Well, they're big. One could probably kill Bracken-"

He looked skeptical. "Bracken knows enough magic to strangle a living being. I'm sure a lion is no exception."

"Yeah, I know. He did it to me!"

"Me too. But when the time comes, I'll do it to him, and he will die."

"Just enjoy the story, please? Anyway, it roared, and _I_ roared even louder, then I bit its neck, it died, and I ate it in three bites! THREE BITES!"

"Is that a record for you?"

"Yes it is!" Navarog confirmed proudly. "Are you learning magic now?"

Ronodin smiled (which only made him look goofier). "I've started."

"Show me what you can do! Can you strangle me? I won't mind!"

His expression morphed into one of longing. "Not as of now."

"What can you do?"

"My worthiest feat so far? Throwing a rock at a window."

"Eh."

"Don't dismiss it like that. It scared Bracken out of his wits."

"Can you show me something awesome?"

"Do you want a demonstration?"

"If that means showing me something awesome, yes!"

"It's very unstable." Ronodin warned. "My magic. I can never predict exactly what it's going to do."

"As long as it's cool!"

"I'm gonna dispel the barrier on the exit." Ronodin said, purple-blue eyes lighting up. "Then, we can leave the room."

"Do it, then!"

Ronodin extended an arm towards the doorway, towards the invisible barrier that Navarog couldn't see. His hand formed a strange shape, palm facing outward, almost like a claw made with four fingers. He closed his eyes, and Navarog could almost see him concentrating. He didn't look half as goofy as he did when Navarog first met him.

Nothing happened. Ronodin opened his eyes, and they were bright with tears. He looked exhausted, spent.

"It failed." Ronodin panted. "I was trying to… well, I don't know the exact theory, but I expected it to work. I thought I was strong enough."

"What did you do exactly?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try anyway. I'm not stupid, you know."

"I sent out a pulse." Ronodin attempted to explain. "Like a wave, a frequency… Well, in theory, it should have shattered the barrier."

"I didn't see anything."

"It isn't visible to your eyes. You couldn't see the barrier either. It didn't break."

"Apparently it's too strong."

"No." he looked down at his hands. "It's not the strength of the barrier… it's _my_ weakness."

_Creak._

"What was that?" asked Navarog.

"Most likely an aftershock." Ronodin answered.

Navarog looked at the ceiling. They were standing directly below one of those fancy lanterns… a chandelier, it was called.

"Ronodin…"

The chandelier rotated on its axis. Ronodin glanced up at it. Crystals flashed and chimed as it spun.

"Ronodin…"

"So mesmerizing…" the unicorn said in wonder, eyes riveted on the crystals. Navarog thought privately he'd never looked so goofy.

Swiftly yet silently, the chandelier detatched from its holdings. Silent but deadly, the chandelier descended in a flash of diamond, like a swooping dragon.

"_Ronodin_!" And Navarog dragged his friend away from the deadly, falling mass, oblivious to who they bumped into, not a second before the chandelier struck.

It hit the ground with a sound like a million bones breaking.

CRASH!

After that terrible noise worthy of one of the dragon king's roars, Navarog could feel the force of a thousand stares on him and Ronodin.


End file.
